John C Woolsey, LEED AP » Recreation

September Critical Mass San Diego

John — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 05:53:18 +0000

Have you ever heard of this? Until about Monday I hadn’t until I talked to a friend in San Diego about getting together for a bike ride. If you don’t know what Critical Mass is then I will summarize – think 4 hour long bicycling flash mob. No official organizers, word of mouth and internet coordination and no planned route, just the mass of cyclists behaving like one large organism moving down the street. CM riders don’t obey any of the stop lights or signs they encounter, in fact they are doing well to obey the direction of traffic on the street (I don’t agree with everything I saw last night). You can read all about the heart of this thing HERE.

So if you watched the video you get the idea of what it looks like. If you read the Wiki entry you know what the issues are and essentially how it works. Now, for my impressions.

Its a blast! It was a little uncomfortable blowing through red lights with the masses because by my very nature I am a rule follower. When I ride on my own I depend on traffic laws to keep me as safe as possible so ignoring some of the essentials really goes against my grain – but I do understand. You get comfortable riding in the mass and you get good and weaving around other cyclists and riding in VERY close proximity. In fact, you get very dependant on it very quickly. There is safety in numbers.

The message is good. I like what the heart of the event is supposed to communicate. Alternatives to driving cars everywhere. Making motorists aware of the presence of cyclists and how they need to keep an eye out for them even when its unexpected. Cycling is a very entertaining and healthy way to get around. I would love to see more of that mentality here in Murrieta.

In numbers, people demonstrate the worst of humanity… I wish I could say that everyone there maintained the ideals of the event. But instead, I heard cyclists taunting motorists. I heard them calling drivers names and banging on their cars. I saw some disposing of beer cans on the road as they went along their way. I saw too many people blowing an opportunity to show that they are truely different by behaving exactly like the people they want to educate. I have news for you, it doesn’t work like that.

All in all, it was fun and I would love to do it again but I do have my reservations about the behavior of some of the cyclists. I don’t suppose you can get everyone to behave themselves all the time but I don’t know if it should ruin a thing that doesn’t hurt anyone, the police tend to just keep an eye on and definately gets some healthy attention.

Have You Ever Seen One of These?

John — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:50:28 +0000

Well, now you have. Its called a Tri-Runner and its from a Chinese company. They run a 250cc water cooled 4-stroke engine with a pseudo-variable speed transmission (Salisbury) with a centrifugal clutch. Fully suspended and capable of about 40mph. Think of it as a recumbent version of a 3 wheeler like Honda used to make…with a roll cage. I would never consider buying one of these considering their place of origin could make for questionable reliability and repairability…but never the less the Woolseys have come into possession of one! A friend of my dad’s acquired 4 of them and had no where to store them. He offered to give my dad one if he could keep them at his house. My dad at first didn’t know what to do with one but soon realized I would put it to good use.

Next time any of you are ready for a quick trip out to the desert I will be ready with my exotic, china-made ride. Try to keep up

Boat | Pulling the Trigger

John — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:51:25 +0000

So after much deliberation and some research I think I am going to pull the trigger on this boat thing. I have had another opportunity to poke around the boat and to kick the keel. It is structurally sound and really only needs to be cleaned out and the old paint can come off. I haven’t decided what this boat will look like when its done but it will look like it was made in the 50′s. Now, how it will run is another story. The more I have thought about it the more I am leaning towards fuel injection. For those of you that have no idea, this is the form of aspiration that engines have been using for decades now. It is cleaner and more efficient, which means not just better fuel economy but better use of fuel which means power! I don’t anticipate this project costing much money at all, just time. I set up a blog just for the boat where I will keep more detailed pictures and posts of whats happening. Its going to be in my links section or you can go to boat.woolseylife.com. It will mostly be a scrap book for myself. Either way, its going to be a fun and inexpensive project that will lead to lots of fun!

Pictures | A Noteworthy Discovery

John — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:59:12 +0000

I have been making it a point to be more aware of my camera phone. I went a long time without one so I got out of the habit of using it but that has changed and I am going to justify its presence.

I went for a short bike ride around my neighborhood just to go find something to jump off of and the biggest jump nearby had a bunch of kids playing on it. So I hit it when my chance came and it made me ‘cool’ enough to say hi to. They asked me if I had seen the jumps on the other side of the street. I hadn’t so they took me over there and introduced me to the most amazing sight I have seen all week. Pictured above is the first drop in of a series of about 6 layers of serious bike jumps. The kind that give mom’s heart attacks. Click on the picture to see a few more shots of this little bike park.

Yeah! I used my camera phone…enjoy!

Boat | I Bet You Didn’t Know This About Me

John — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:01:47 +0000

But I grew up in a classic car family. In fact, our wedding was host to about 5 classic cars – and I don’t mean Mustangs and Malibu’s, I mean cars like a ’56 Chevy truck, a ’35 Packard Limo (the bridal party arrived in style), a ’38 Buick sedan and the like; a little off the main street of classic cars. So, as a result of that component of my childhood I do have an eye for classic cars. But, thats about it, just an eye – no real desire to work on one or even to go out of my way to own one. Now, if we are talking about 1950-something or earlier era wooden boats its another story. I have always thought that restoring a classic boat would be a lot of fun and would result in a great relational recreational opportunity. I grew up on power boats and my parents still have one. But something about a wood boat with a bull nosed bow, short windshield and odd seating arrangements just gets my imagination running. So when my dad called me to tell me he had bought one for its engine I thought it was an opportunity worth investigating. So, I am investigating. Am I crazy? Or is this just cool and way different? Maybe both, but I will keep you posted. You can see the other pictures of this boat in my photos page.

Sunday | It Just Keeps Going

John — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 22:36:14 +0000

Days like today are particularly long for me. Not because its Sunday and we had church today or because of anything else. Its just long today because I am coming down with something in my sinus region. Bound to be fun…

So, after explaing myself above – a quick update:it was my Dad’s birthday while I was gone at staff retreat and so we are going down to have dinner with them today. Also, my mountain bike is on the road to recovery. They got the new frame in and D.B. did sent them the wrong bottom bracket. After realizing the error they put one right in the mail. The mechanic here in town is off until Thursday so I am still riding the Trek until at least this coming weekend. I suspect I will be sick for the next couple days and may not be in the posting mood. See you when the storm blows over.

Garden | My Favorite Information Source

John — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:57:50 +0000

Christy and I did some yard stuff today. She had some time off and this is how we spent our time together. We did a lot of dreaming while we sat and looked at the yard. While we were talking we were sitting in front of the lappy and we were browsing my favorite horticultural database, Monrovia. Its a great searchable database with all kinds of great info on caring for plants and how to use them and even companion plants. Its just rich with data, and when you do your first search and you have your first result there is a treat for you. If you are using Firefox take a gander at the little search bar on the top right, its glowing! Just click it and add Monrovia as a search engine to your browser. It made my day. Happy gardening!

Mt Bike | Kent, WA; We Have a Problem…

John — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:58:14 +0000

Before we left for our staff retreat to the Sierras I dropped my bike off at Bicycle Warehouse where I got it just about a month ago. It was time for its first month’s service and I figured if I had to be without it I would like to be without it while I am out of town. When I called this morning I found out that what I thought were just minor assembly issues turned out to be major manufacturing defects. In short, and in English, the bottom part of the main frame where the pedals are installed is damaged so badly the whole frame needs to be replaced! The mechanic told me that it is something he has never seen before in Diamondback or anyone else. So, we are waiting for the Diamondback rep to get back to Willy, my mechanic and approve the shipment of a new frame. Looks like for now, I am back to being a cross country rider.

. : Diamondback is owned by Raleigh America Inc. , located in Kent, WA.

UPDATE (10/1/2007) I talked to the mechanic at Bicycle Warehouse this afternoon. He told me that he finally got a hold of their Diamondback Rep. and that this was going to be taken care of by the manufacture in the quickest possible way. What is the quickest possible way you ask? They ship a new frame set down from WA. and as soon as my mechanic gets it he will tear down my bike and rebuild it with the new frame and all of my components. I am told to check back Monday (in seven days) and see how the progress is going. My mechanic has told me that a week-and-a-half is a realistic turn around.

Those of you that know my experience with Alienware know that this type of thing sometimes just happens to me, but unlike the Alienware nightmare this one has a simple solution with basically a new bike. Things like this happen and I am fine with it as long as I am being kept in the loop, which I am.

Race | Red Bull Gives You Wings

John — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 05:44:58 +0000

Today was my birthday and Christy and I went down to San Diego to check out the Red Bull Air Race in San Diego. The race was held over the San Diego Harbor on the inland side of the Coronado Bridge. We stopped in Escondido to pick up my parents and to see Christy’s mom. We found cheap parking and we got close enough to the track that we didn’t have to pay for admission to the Embarcadero Marina. The race is an international event and is being held in 10 countries all around the world. These planes weigh around 1100 lbs and have over 300 hp. They race at a speed of 250mph. Fun fun fun!

You can see some pictures of the race in our photo album.

Lake Elsinore | Windy Day

John — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 02:21:24 +0000

Today I caught up with some old friends and went out on Lake Elsinore. It was a fun time; I got one ski ride in and but wind was blowing so hard it was a rough ride. But, we all know that a bad day on the lake is better than a good day at the office. By the time we were putting back into the launch we were fighting 4 foot swells! This really caught me off guard because I have never seen more than annoying chop on Lake Elsinore before. If you have never been on Lake Elsinore and are thinking you would like to check it out for an afternoon boat ride heed this one piece of advice: stay on the southwest side of the lake as much as possible. The wind comes down the hill during the later part of the day and in this corner of the lake the wind doesn’t have a chance to kick up the waves yet. You can always get in a ride on a wakeboard or waterski around this area.